NY Times take on the Mills trade

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      October 23, 1997
      
     
Knicks Acquire Chris Mills From Celtics in Trade

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      By SELENA ROBERTS
      
     B OSTON -- The New York Knicks reasserted their urgent need to win
     a title now by unloading their future on Wednesday, sending the
     last of their MTV generation players to Boston for the veteran
     forward Chris Mills in a four-for-one trade.
     
     Mills, 27, fits the Knicks' grinding, patterned style, not the
     fast-paced play Rick Pitino has implemented with the Celtics.
     
     Pitino receives one player who knew his high-intensity system at
     Kentucky, the budding forward Walter McCarty, plus another
     second-year player, Dontae' Jones, along with the rookie John
     Thomas and the reserve guard Scott Brooks. The Celtics also gave
     the Knicks two second-round draft picks.
     
     "We're playing for right now," Coach Jeff Van Gundy said before the
     Knicks faced the Celtics on Wednesday night in a preseason game at
     the Fleet Center. "We have to do everything in our power to be the
     best we can be."
     
     With the battery life of Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley nearing
     an end, the Knicks were more than willing to give up four players
     to add up to the salary cap number of Mills, who was the Celtics'
     prime free-agent pickup this summer, signing a seven-year deal
     worth $33.6 million.
     
     Mills, who was a three-year starter in Cleveland, will be asked to
     submerge his ego and come off the bench behind Larry Johnson,
     providing the Knicks with a smooth shooter and good ball-handler.
     He will also be a safety net should Johnson get injured or fall off
     in production.
     
     "My main objective is to help the team," said Mills, who expected
     to join the Knicks on Thursday in New York after taking his
     physical. "It doesn't matter if I start or come off the bench, I
     want to help the team go all the way."
     
     That is the attitude the Knicks are counting on, a team with
     arguably the deepest bench in the league. Still, someone's minutes
     will have to suffer. Jones, McCarty and Thomas did not pose a
     threat to the team's starters or sixth man, John Starks. Mills, who
     led the Cavaliers in minutes last year, could provide a positive
     push or a dividing element for the team.
     
     "If we're healthy, we're going to be asking guys to make
     sacrifices," Van Gundy said. "But with the way injuries play a big
     part, we're blessed to have depth. It's going to be a great test of
     our team-first mentality, having to check our egos. We'll see."
     
     The outgoing players were not surprised at the trade. One of the
     players traded, who did not want to be identified, said the move
     was "just like the Knicks," who traded John Wallace in a deal for
     the veteran backup center Chris Dudley two weeks ago.
     
     The Knicks' youngest player is Allan Houston, at 26. Houston, like
     everyone else, was friends with the traded players, but sees the
     reason behind the deal.
     
     "I don't think they're trying to hide their urgency," Houston said
     of the Knicks' management. "For us as players, at least those of us
     remaining, it's not our job to understand. We just have to go out
     and play basketball. As soon as Chris comes in, we have to help him
     learn things as quick as possible."
     
     Mills is used to the half-court, methodical style of the Knicks
     after playing under Mike Fratello at Cleveland. He was comfortable
     in it, averaging 13.4 points and 6.2 rebounds as a Cavalier last
     season. He shot 45 percent, and hit 39 percent from 3-point range.
     
     This kind of output is just what the Knicks need. After asking
     about every available small forward, from Cedric Ceballos in
     Phoenix to Dale Ellis in Seattle, the Knicks' search ended with the
     versatile Mills.
     
     "By getting Chris we get a true small forward," Ernie Grunfeld, the
     Knicks' president, said. "We are really pleased to get him. I've
     talked to him. And he told me he would accept his role because his
     main concern is winning. I felt we had to pursue Chris when he
     became available."
     
     He was out there because he had trouble finding his groove in
     Pitino's style. Even so, Pitino did not want to push Mills out.
     Pitino gave Mills the option to reject the deal if he did not feel
     comfortable going to New York. Mills told him to put the trade in
     motion, opting to go to a championship-contending team.
     
     "I think Chris Mills is the type of ballplayer that if you put him
     with better ballplayers, he shows more brilliance," Pitino said.
     "You put him on a team like ours, one just beginning to learn the
     system, and you probably don't get as much value out of him."
     
     Mills' lucrative deal is just another in a line of cap-consuming
     contracts the Knicks have. That means the Knicks, who have an
     average age of 31 and who have run out of young players to dangle
     as trade bait, will make a run at the title with a veteran team
     that may or may not be able to hold off the young teams.
     
     "We tried to get a player that fits us," Van Gundy said. "We'll see
     if our team is ready to start sacrificing for a championship."
     
     Ewing, who signed a four-year, $68million contract over the off
     season, said: "We feel we have a four-year window to win it. It's
     like, get it done now."
     
     After the trade, the Knicks were left with eight able-bodied
     players to face the pressing, scrambling Celtics. The Knicks (2-4)
     in an uninspiring preseason game, committed 31 turnovers under the
     pressure. They looked uninterested and lethargic at times, but they
     recovered to win, 89-84.
     
   
   
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Bob Strauss      "Duke of URL"                   Cataloger
Hunter Library                                   Western Carolina U.
strauss@wcu.edu
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